Warwickshire Restaurant Guide

“Adam Bennett produces dishes of supreme quality, prepared with flair and skill” according to all reports on this “lovely” Grade II listed inn, which – aided by the profile of Andreas Antona of Birmingham star Simpson’s – has become one of the most commented-on destinations in the Midlands. All accounts say a meal here is “absolutely stunning” and “it is also very refreshing to be able to order à la carte at a Michelin-starred restaurant, rather than being forced to order a tasting menu” (although one local “would eat here more often if there were a greater variation of dishes on offer”). Service is “always friendly, attentive and competent” and “it maintains a brilliant experience”. Top Menu Tip – “the most extravagant chicken liver parfait imaginable, top venison, and a wonderful variation on île flottante”.

2022 Review: This former fishmonger, butcher, casino, tailor etc. is acclaimed by locals for its “perfect fine dining in an intimate setting”. After pandemic lockdowns, it’s “back with a subtle but impactful makeover and a great new tasting menu” – now the only option, and ringing in at £65 for six courses.

2022 Review: Hilary & Barrie Cload's homage to Royal Thai cuisine (est. 2004) enjoys a “very pleasant” art gallery setting, and its “wonderful, beautifully presented” food just “never disappoints”; they also do a “great deal involving ‘lunch boxes’ which are delicious”.

“A great surprise! An authentic Italian restaurant with a broad menu of very good food and wine” – “delivered with panache and generosity”. The “beautiful and romantic decor, with cherry trees garlanded with tiny lights” only adds to the appeal.

“The epitome of the proper French bistro as you would have found in France 25 years ago”, owned by acclaimed butchers, Aubrey Allen. “Pascal the patron excels at providing excellent meat and fish dishes that are always reliable, and service is friendly even when they are packed!”

2021 Review: “Pleasant and friendly” venue off the main drag: modern British dishes are “clearly made with both love and knowledge” in the semi-open kitchen, and “it’s good to interact with the chefs as they serve a course”; reasonable prices too.

2022 Review: It’s “nice to eat outside by the canal on a sunny day” at this well-run casual spot, with a useful menu of grills and sarnies.

2022 Review: The oak-panelled dining room at this Lutyens-style Relais & Château spa hotel makes a suitable setting for chef Paul Evans to showcase fresh produce from the hotel’s long-established kitchen garden. Long-serving chef-director Simon Haigh oversees the Eden hotel collection’s culinary offering from this flagship restaurant.

2022 Review: “A real gem in our local area” – this branch in the stylish, seven-strong Warwickshire-based 'Lovely Pubs' group has a lot to recommend it: “service is on the right side of friendly and very attentive”, they serve “great pub food, but restaurant quality” (including “fantastic seafood platters”), and if you stick to the main bar downstairs, there's plenty of atmosphere too.

2021 Review: “Much improved by a change of owners” (the all-conquering Brunning & Price), this seventeenth century pub in “beautiful surroundings” – a hamlet “out in Warwickshire’s lush countryside” – wins applause for “upmarket pub food at a reasonable price point”, and which comes “allied to lovely service” to boot.

Ex-Simpson’s head chef, Matt Cheal’s “smart but comfortable” venue occupies “a timbered building on Henley in Arden’s picturesque high street”. The six-course tasting menu offers a succession of dishes described in reports as “delightful” and “accurately cooked”.

2022 Review: With its “lovely setting (indoors or outdoors)” and “nicely priced menu” of dishes from around the world – including a selection of “fantastic” small plates to share – this 200-year-old country pub with a contemporary brasserie extension is a useful option near Stratford.

Expert game chef Mike Robinson’s collaboration with the Indigo boutique hotel brand, in a timber-beamed dining room from the Shakespearean era, has made “a great addition to Stratford” over its first three years of operation. There’s an “unpretentious” menu of tasty sustainable wild meat, and “if you sit around the small chefs’ counter it gets a little warm from the wood-fired oven, but is a great spot from which to chat with the chefs”.

“The ambience if you can get a window seat is excellent” in the top-floor restaurant of the RSC, whose rooftop position gives fine views of the river and swans below. It’s not a foodie experience as such, but some regulars believe “standards have improved since their enforced Covid break”.